Miami Good, Bad, & Ugly
The first huge test of the season was passed with flying colors. Kansas State went to Miami and came away with an early season marquee win for everyone in the nation to witness. Collin Klein and John Hubert put on a show and the defense played just good enough to keep the Wildcats undefeated for another big game this weekend. After a weekend of enjoying the win, continue reading to see the good, bad, and ugly of the game.
The Good
Opening it up… After the EKU game, there was no hope for an opening road win against a quality opponent. After the Kent State game, things looked more promising but I still wasn’t convinced we had much chance to actually win. After the opening offensive possession, I saw all I needed to have real optimism. You know that going to Miami for the first road test of the season had to bring nerves. Nerves can easily lead to problems. Instead, the Wildcat offense opened up with an 11 play, 63 yard drive resulting in a touchdown and the lead. That was a huge confidence booster that carried through the game and set up everything that took place from there on out. Muy bueno.
Finishing it out… If you have any form of a heart condition you may not have been able to watch the end of that game. Playing Miami exposed some flaws in our defense for sure, but in the end it was the defense who sealed it. After Miami went down the field in an instant, and a pass interference call gave them completely new life, they stood up just long enough to take care of business. Miami tried to pound it in from the 2 twice and were rejected both times. The final play involved the DBs staying in coverage long enough, the D-Line plugging the middle, and the LBs keeping everything under wraps which happened just right.
Klein… How could he not be after that performance? Dude came out and gave blood for the Wildcat victory… literally. He was battered, beaten, and bruised by the end of the game but that didn’t stop him from completing 12 of 18 for 133 yards for 2 touchdowns or from rushing for a total of 93 yards and another TD. Klein can still grow in plenty of ways but it’s becoming more clear why he won the job.
Hubert… 18 carries for 166 yards and 1 TD. He averaged 9.2 yards per carry and busted off some huge runs when K-State was in need of a big play. I saw some complaining about his lack of a third gear on other sites but I don’t see what the problem is. He was a beast and set up some huge scores.
Run Defense… Miami finished with a total of 139 yards on the ground but 59 of that came on one play. Not that the 59 yards doesn’t count, but I noticed the front four had some confusion that caused some really late shifting on that play. After the snap, Miller ran right up the middle through the hole that had just been vacated. I’d be interested to know if that was a blown assignment. Either way, the Hurricanes rushed for 240 against Ohio State and 172 against Maryland. I’m guessing there are very few people who would have guessed K-State would be the best of those three against Miami.
The Bad
Under Pressure… Jacory Harris didn’t get touched once on his pass attempts. I don’t really even remember any times that he was forced to move around much. Our defensive front was handled the entire game by Miami’s line and towards the end you could tell the defensive line just didn’t have the energy to put up any real pass rush. The defensive plan was clearly to shut down the run which somewhat worked, but there has to be some more blitzing sprinkled in to disrupt things a bit. Clearly dropping 7 did nothing to keep Miami’s passing game from working so change it up and bring something off the end. C’mon Cosh. Don’t do this to us again!
Pass Defense… As good as the run defense was, the pass defense worries me for what’s coming in Big12 play. I understand how the gameplan aided Miami’s totals a bit but it seemed like every pass in the second half Miami completed was to a receiver either wide open or very poorly defended. Give part of the blame to the complete lack of pressure mentioned above, but there still has to be improvements made in the coverage if Baylor, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, and Texas A&M aren’t going to have historic days on the secondary. Let’s hope there aren’t any other teams on our schedule with the same speed across the board that Miami showed.
The Ugly
Ugly Orange Seats… What the heck? How do you call yourself the “U” and not be able to get even a third of your stadium filled? And a lightning delay isn’t close to a good excuse. The attendance was officially almost 44,000 but anyone who saw the zoomed out views of Sun Life Stadium knows it wasn’t even close. And this was just a week after a huge win for Miami. Seeing things like that remind me of why I love the Midwest so much. There’s no chance of open seats for Saturday vs. Baylor and Bill Snyder Family Stadium was packed for both EKU and Kent State. It seems like for all of the swag Miami likes to tout, nobody around them cares.
The Meltdown… Late in the second quarter, coming off a big stop of Miami at mid-field and giving K-State an opportunity to at least run out the clock on the first half, everyone lost their freaking mind. It started with a 10 yard holding call on a pass from Klein to Smith. That made it 1st and 11. Then the Wildcats rattled off a false start, a delay of game, and another false start making it 1st and 26 from their own 6 yard line. If not for the complete breakdown of the Miami defense and Klein’s 26 yard run up the gut, who knows what might have happened. That just can’t happen ever again.
Where to go from here…
Big12 play starts with a bang! Baylor rolls into town for a nationally televised showdown. RG3 has been a thorn in the side of K-State constantly and he’s already put up huge numbers this season getting plenty of Heisman hype. The pass defense is going to have to improve but boy am I glad this is going to be played in Manhattan. The season is looking pretty good after 3 played and I’m hoping to make some travel plans for a consecutive bowl.